Missing Trilogy Book 1: Finding Home
by Bigsisnat533
Summary: Trapped. Shay and Vella are trapped in a world that isn't theirs. Not only that, but this other world is at war. And Shay and Vella are caught in the middle of it, when all they want to do is go home and assure their families that they aren't dead. They can't do that until the war is over, so what is there to do? - A story re-told from another perspective (and then some).
1. Fallen

Falling. He was falling. Shay, ex-resident of "space", was falling into the abyss, presumably to his death. A giant, robotic hand reached out to catch him, but it missed. He was vaguely aware of his parents calling his name, yelling out to him, and yet he couldn't tell. Everything had this haze about it-as if it were all a dream. Things became darker until he couldn't see. Darkness enveloped him down in the gorge.

Vella, ex-maiden and slayer of Mog Chothra, who was standing next to Shay's mom atop the rapidly melting ships, watched in horror as he disappeared into the darkness. Both of Shay's parents screamed his name. She ignored it. The only thing that was dying today was Mog Chothra. Looking around for something to tie herself to, Vella saw one of the yarn arms sticking out from a hole in the ship's exterior.

"How long are these things?" she asked, tying it around her waist and testing to make sure it was tied securely.

Shay's mom looked at Vella for a moment, not quite registering the question. She shook her head as if to clear it. "They're very long. And they're also slightly stretchy. Why?"

"I'll explain later. Just keep an eye on it, and if and when I tug on it a few times, pull me back up."

With not a moment to spare, she jumped headfirst into the gorge. A few people yelled out to her, but she didn't care. Her eyes adjusted to the darkness and she could see Shay ahead of her. His hands were all scraped up; he must've tried to grab some of the rocky overhangs in the gorge. That had slowed his fall a little bit, and Vella adjusted herself in an attempt to fall faster. She could see him and he could see her.

The two continued falling into the gorge and seconds started turning into minutes. They started to grow nearer each other and Vella extended her hand and yelled, "Take my hand!"

Shay reached for her hand. Their fingertips just barely brushed together. The two reached as far as they could, as far as their bodies would let them. Milliseconds passed. The two were able to join hands. Vella attempted to pull on the arm tied around her waist before she grabbed Shay's other hand. Moments turned into hours.

Both Vella and Shay's parents saw the movement of the arm that they'd been so carefully watching, grabbed it, and tried to pull the two back up. All they got was nothing. Vella pulled Shay into a sort of hug as they hit the bottom.


	2. Came From the Sky

"... He's only a kid! He can't be the wizard!" a slightly accented voice came into Vella's thoughts.

"Why can't he be? The prophecy never specified an age!" came another voice.

"You honestly think he could be the wizard? Don't be silly, sister. I suppose we'll just have to wait until he wakes up."

Vella groaned. The last thing she remembered was trying to catch Shay after he'd fallen (or, more accurately, jumped) into the gorge. Both had fallen to their deaths, or at least that's what she thought. Whatever happened, it hurt. Everything really hurt. Even breathing took more effort than usual. Her eyes still only half open, she tried to sit up, but only succeeded in making the pain worse.

"Shh! She's waking up!" the second voice said.

Vella heard footsteps retreating into the distance and felt a hand on her shoulder. Despite the pain, she continued trying to sit up, only to be pushed back down by the hand. She opened her eyes and looked at the owner of the hand, a young woman.

The woman had silky dark brown hair which was tied up into a neat updo. She had ochre skin and wore a long dress in varying shades of red and white-it was simple, yet very elegant. Her hand still on Vella's shoulder, she regarded the teen with a warm smile, her large eyes glistening.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you. You took quite a fall; just rest for now," the woman said.

A second woman walked into the room, a cup in her hand. She sat down next to the first woman and tilted Vella's head back, pouring a warm liquid down her throat. Vella studied the second woman for a moment.

This second woman's hair was in an updo too, although her hair was a much lighter shade of brown and she wore a feathered headdress with it. She also had much fairer skin than the first woman and seemed much more mature. She wore a much more solemn look too. Her sparkling dress was a light shade of green, complemented by black feathers and a necklace with a single green stone which rested on her chest. The woman set the cup aside.

"Wh-" Vella coughed "-what happened?"

"We honestly don't know. You just fell from the sky," the woman in green said.

"Oh… Who are you?" Vella asked, her voice still cracking a little.

"My name is Evanora," the woman in green said. She gestured to the other woman. "This is my sister, Theodora."

"I'm Vella." Slowly, painfully, she turned her head to the right and saw the very person she tried to save, either unconscious or dead on the floor next to her. "Shay…"

* * *

"Shay…" He heard a familiar voice call his name. Mom? No… no, it didn't sound like his mom… What happened? Was he dead? No… he didn't feel dead. Then again, he wasn't sure what being dead felt like.

With more effort than it ought to have took, he opened his eyes and found himself looking at what looked like a ceiling made of a glistening green stone. He wasn't sure where he was, but he knew it wasn't home. His home was gone. Destroyed. Melted. His whole body hurt, but then again, he wasn't quite sure what else to expect from falling into a gorge. The pain was the only thing telling him he was still alive. More voices faded into his hearing, yet he couldn't find the strength to focus on them. Either way, the only voice he wanted to hear was his mom's.

He closed his eyes and thought about her. About before. About home. When he opened his eyes again, a female face was staring down at him, her smile warm and inviting. He ought to have cried out in surprise, but his voice wouldn't let him and the woman had a certain air of kindness about her that annulled that response.

To his left lay that girl-Vella. Shay looked at her. She smiled at him. He returned it, but his smile turned into more a grimace. Everything he did still hurt.

A gentle hand turned his face back to the right and tilted up his chin. The woman began pouring a liquid down his throat and he tried to resist, but the woman assured him that it wasn't poison or anything. She claimed that it was a healing concoction she had made.

Evidently, it was. Vella had already sat up (with some help from a second woman, who he later found out was named Evanora). Within a span of a few minutes, she'd gone from lying on the floor to standing up and walking around, admiring the palace of emerald which they were in.

Shay, however, hadn't gotten that far. He still lay on the floor, trying to make sense of all that had happened-he felt as if he were in a dream. Everything that had happened washed over him again. He was in just as much pain and shock as when he'd crawled out of his ship into the real world. His thoughts overwhelmed him again and he began inadvertently thinking out loud.

"Comp-no… no, mom… Dad? And… Vella… mogs… no… Bassinostra… gorge… Gary!" He bolted upright when he thought about his little robot friend who'd almost saved him. Gary must've gone down with the ship.

A wave of dizziness washed over him after he sat up and he found himself being lowered back down by the first woman, who he later found out was named Theodora. He lay there for a moment, just thinking. The dizziness cleared and he found himself able to think clearly.

"Where are we?" he asked as Theodora helped him sit up.

"Oz. Was it not your intention to come here?" she said.

"No. We really didn't intend to go anywhere. He was falling into a gorge and I jumped after him and we sorta… hit the bottom. And then we woke up here," Vella chimed in.

"Strange," said Theodora. "When you came to us, you were falling from the sky and screaming. Perhaps it's just memory loss? You did hit your heads when you landed."

"That explains a lot," Shay said, rubbing a sore spot on his skull. "I'm Shay, by the way. Thanks for helping us with… well, whatever that was."

"Glad to help," Theodora said. "You said your name was Shay?" He nodded and Theodora sighed. "Then you are not the wizard?"

"Wizard? No," Shay replied.

Theodora looked at the floor, her disappointment shown clearly on her face. Evanora decided to change the subject.

"Where are you from? We will return you to your homes."

"I'm from Sugar Bunting," Vella said, smiling at the thought of her little town.

"I can't say that I've ever heard of it," said Evanora. She looked at Shay expectantly.

Shay thought about the meltdown. There was no way he'd be able to go back to his ship-he wasn't sure if he'd want to anyway. "Mine is-er-gone…"

"Gone?" asked Theodora.

"Yeah. It's a long story. You see, our home was what we thought was a spaceship in space, but really it wasn't really a spaceship, and it wasn't really in space. It was a monster that kidnapped girls and it recently melted," explained Shay.

"Oh…" Theodora said, not entirely sure what she could or should say.

"You left out a lot of that story," Vella pointed out.

"Well, it's a really long story and I want to get back to tell my parents that I'm okay," said Shay.

"That might take a while," Theodora said. "We aren't quite sure where your homes are, nor do we know of these monsters you speak of."

"Oh…" Shay said, disappointed.

"I'm sure we'll figure it out soon," said Theodora. "You can stay here for now."

"Right," said Evanora. "If you do something for us in the morning."

"Oh, sister, that hardly seems fair! They're only kids, and besides, they need to heal up after falling from the sky," said Theodora. Evanora shot her a look telling her to shut up.

The two sisters led Vella and Shay to two rooms across from each other. Both were grateful for the sisters' hospitality, but something didn't feel quite right to Vella. Theodora was genuinely nice, but something about Evanora seemed… fake. It was like the Evanora they'd met that day was nothing but a mask, a façade hiding her true nature. But Vella was tired and she accepted it. She would think about it later. For now, she'd sleep and dream of home.


	3. Not as It Seems

Shay just lay there, staring at the sparkling green ceiling. It was all he'd been doing for the previous few hours-there was no way he was going to sleep. There was no way he could. Someone knocked on the door, but he didn't even have it in him to respond.

"Shay? Are you awake too?" Vella's voice came from his door. "Shay?"

The doorknob clicked and Vella walked into his room, giving up asking for permission, although she still hoped not to interrupt or wake up Shay. He was still just staring at the ceiling. A thousand different thoughts buzzed in his mind and he focused on all of them and none of them at the same time. He thought about home. He wondered where it was now that his ship was gone. He wondered how his parents were.

"Are you alright?" Vella asked. "Your eyes have that 'glazed over' look."

"Uh huh," Shay lied. He wasn't alright. He wouldn't be alright until he got back to his parents.

"Right," Vella said, seeing right through him. "Can't sleep?" Shay shook his head and Vella sighed as she sat at the foot of his bed. "Me neither."

Shay sat up. "Are all of the thoughts floating in your mind too?"

Vella nodded. "Especially ones about Evanora. Something about her seems… wrong. I think there's more to her than she's letting on."

Shay thought about it for a moment. She did have a certain air about her. One that he'd felt before… One that reminded him of-

"Marek," he whispered.

"Huh?" asked Vella.

"That's who she reminds me of-Marek… He was the one who told me to… to… Well, you know. He gave me that feeling too, where it feels like they're fake… But then again, I knew he was disguised to begin with… But still," Shay said, his thoughts exploding and threatening to come out of his mouth all at once.

"Wait, Marek? You mean Marekai, right?" Vella asked. "Creepy guy in a wolf suit?"

"Yeah-wait… You mean… that wasn't… oh…"

The two sat in silence for a moment before Vella spoke again. "So it's not just me, then? About Evanora, I mean. What about Theodora? I don't get that feeling from her, yet she either goes along with or is oblivious to whatever Evanora's hiding…"

Shay just shrugged and whispered, "I don't know."

The two thought about it, continuing to talk and theorize until they just couldn't anymore and fell asleep. Both dreamed of their homes that night, and all thoughts about Evanora left their minds.

Evanora grumbled in frustration. That night, she had begun spying on the two kids, making sure they weren't up to no good. She had found them having a conversation-about her. Of course they knew. Clearly, they weren't as gullible as her sister, nor were they as easily swayed as the people of Oz. They hadn't been there for the king's oh-so-tragic death.

The witch sighed and stepped away from her crystal ball after the two kids fell asleep. She hadn't heard all of the conversation- but she knew enough to know that they were onto her. They were interfering with her plans and she had no idea where they were from or how to get them there.

She had planned to send then to spy on (or even better, kill) the "Wicked Witch", but now that they were onto her, she couldn't have them finding out the truth and giving anything away. Not only that, but Glinda would have two more allies. Ones that, unlike Glinda's other allies, could fight and/or potentially kill her.

No, she would have to deal with them herself, whether that be figuring out how to send them home, killing them as she did the king, or simply keeping them on her side. She would take any precautions needed and deal with them by any means necessary.


	4. The Wizard

_A gentle breeze stirred the warm air and sunlight shone upon the land. Her little sister called her name, but she ignored it. She didn't want to leave. She had escaped and no longer wanted to return to reality. She didn't want to celebrate with her family, as much as she loved them. It wasn't that she didn't care about her town, but something about it all made her uneasy. Besides, it was so nice sitting there under that tree…_

The breeze and the sunshine faded as Vella woke up. She decided to not open her eyes; the memories of home were still fresh in her mind and that was how she wanted to keep it. A part of her hoped that she had been dreaming the whole time. Maybe there was a chance that she really was still at home.

She opened her eyes, only to find herself looking at the sparkling emerald walls and Shay's face. For a moment, she questioned what was happening, but as soon as the waking haze faded, she remembered everything that had happened that night.

Careful not to wake Shay, Vella pulled the soft, light green blanket off of her. Theodora must have put it there while she was asleep. She glanced back at the sleeping Shay again and left the room.

The night before, Theodora had said breakfast would be served in one of the common rooms just down the hall. Vella really didn't know where anything was, so she picked a direction and started walking. At the end of the hallway, she found a slightly decorative door.

' _This looks promising,'_ she thought. She opened the door, hoping that she wasn't interrupting anything.

Evanora was mixing various substances together and staring off to her right. Vella couldn't see what she was looking at from the doorway. Evanora noticed Vella, stopped what she was doing and looked up at her.

Vella smiled apologetically. "Sorry! I was looking fo-"

"You want the other end of the hallway," Evanora said, wanting Vella to leave as soon as possible so she could get back to her work.

Vella closed the door silently and started walking the other way down the hall. By this time, Shay was up and walking towards her.

"Wrong way," Vella said, turning Shay around. "Evanora's bedroom is that way and she isn't in the friendliest of moods right now."

The two walked down the long hallway in silence. When they got to the common room, Theodora was already there and waiting for them, although she too looked like she'd just woken up. She smiled at them.

"Good morning you two," she said. "We weren't expecting you up this early; breakfast isn't quite ready. Is there anything in particular that you'd like?"

"Anything but cereal," Shay replied, shuddering. "I _cannot_ take another morning of eating cereal."

Vella looked at him as if he were crazy. "Why…?"

"What?" Shay asked. "It's all my mom fed me. I don't like cereal anymore… well, maybe SPLARGH… Yeah, that stuff was alright…"

"I'm not even going to ask what that was," Vella said. "And I guess I understand. I found some of that stuff while I was on your ship. It smelled nutritious in the worst way possible and I bet it tasted the same way."

"It did," Shay replied. "Wait, why were you smelling my cereal?"

"I-er-accidentally made that little robot on the vacuum drop some… I'm _kinda_ glad I decided not to try it now. I also feel kinda sorry for those maidens I fed it to…"

Evanora walked into the room, about as sour as Vella had seen her earlier. She sat down next to Shay as Theodora helped the staff bring in a few plates.

"Good morning sister," she said.

Evanora looked up at Theodora as if she hadn't processed what she'd said, then put on a fake smile. "Good morning Theodora."

Theodora set a few plates down on the table. "Are you alright?" she asked Evanora, "It seems that as of late you've been quite stressed."

"It's fine, sister," Evanora said. "You needn't worry."

"Well, in any case, I had the staff make your favorite," Theodora replied, finishing setting plates on the table and sitting in her chair.

"Oh, how thoughtful of you sister," Evanora said, her mask of false kindness on once more.

The four of them ate in silence, Evanora mulling over her problems, Theodora not sure how to start a conversation, and Vella and Shay busy with thoughts about home. Theodora finished her breakfast and gave the plates to the staff. Shay and Vella did the same, while Evanora sat there, stuck in her thoughts while her food became cold.

Theodora looked at the two kids and smiled. "Why don't I take you two on a little tour of the Emerald City? I think Evanora would appreciate the space."

The two agreed and went along with Theodora down the streets of the Emerald City. Theodora showed them around and at the end of the tour, the three of them just walked around, talking. Vella and Shay told Theodora about their home (or at least what they could). Theodora gave them a brief lesson on the history of Oz.

"What is that?" Vella asked, interrupting Theodora and Shay's discussion on hugs. She pointed to the sky, where a brightly colored object that looked as though it was falling from the sky.

"I... I don't know..." Theodora replied.

"It looks like... A balloon?" Shay said uncertainly.

The three of them walked out of the city, hoping to see whatever was falling by the time it crashed. They ran through the forest as the object disappeared below the tree line. A splash was heard ahead of them.

Vella, Shay, and Theodora hid behind some plants, watching the crashed object. Memories flashed in Vella's mind and she could see Mog Chothra again, right there crashed in the ocean. She pushed the memories away, seeing what it really was-a hot air balloon crashed in a small lake. A man started crawling out of it and the memories came back. Vella found herself looking at a very hesitant Shay as he stumbled out into the real world. She blinked and was back in Oz, watching a man crawl out of the balloon and flail around as if he was drowning.

Theodora crept out of the bushes to see who the man was. He looked up as she approached.

"Oh, thank goodness," the man said upon seeing Theodora. "I thought I was dead. Unless you're an angel… Am I in heaven?"

Theodora shook her head.

The man lifted his head to the sky. "There is still hope for me! You won't regret this!"

Theodora finally forced out some words. "I… we… Saw you fall from the sky."

"Yes… my balloon hit an… inverted thermal, I-I couldn't compensate… " the man said.

Shay and Vella crept out of the bushes too, going to stand by Theodora. Oz looked at them and his smile faltered.

"Are those your kids?" he asked.

Theodora looked confused for a moment and replied, "No. They, like you, fell out of the sky. I have been trying to help them find a way home."

"Oh thank goodness," Vella thought she heard the man mumble. "So… you're not married?"

Theodora shook her head, still confused.

The man turned toward Vella and Shay. "And you might be?"

"I'm Vella Tartine," Vella said.

"And I'm Shay Volta," Shay added.

"Ah," the man said. "Are you from Kansas as well?"

"Kansas?" Vella asked. The name of the foreign land he spoke of felt odd on her tongue.

"I'll take that as a no," the man said.

"I'd get out of the water if I were you," Theodora interrupted, noticing something moving in and around the water.

"It's actually quite nice…" the man said.

Theodora saw the movements of the small creatures. "I'd be more concerned about the river fairies… their teeth are small, but rather sharp."

"River fairies?" Vella asked, looking at Shay even though she knew he wouldn't have the answer.

Shay just shrugged and shook his head in confusion. "Maybe she means those little creatures."

"River fairies?" The man laughed nervously. "What's a river fairy?"

More of the little creatures gathered together and then swarmed the man. He tried to swat them away, but they were very persistent. After a few minutes and a lot of swatting, the last of the river fairies left the man alone.

"Spiteful little things, aren't they?" Theodora asked, smiling.

The man ignored the question. "Where… Where am I?"

"Where do you think you are?" Theodora asked in response.

"I… I have no idea… This place," he gestured to the world around him. "It's like no place I've ever seen."

Theodora looked at him. "You're in Oz."

"Oz? B-but… that's my name." Theodora's eyes lit up at the man's statement. "Oscar Zoroaster Phadrig Isaac Norman Henkle Emmanuel Ambroise Diggs… But everyone calls me Oz…"

"That's a lot of names…" Vella whispered, leaning in towards Shay's ear.

Theodora smiled. "I knew it! The king's prophecy was true! He said that a great wizard bearing the name of our land will descend from the heavens and save us all. And here you are, here to claim your throne."

The man looked surprised at the notion. "Wizard?" he asked.

"Yes," Theodora said. "Just like the prophecy says."

An ear-splitting cry filled the air and everyone looked around, eyes wide. And everyone knew that whatever that noise was could only be bad.


	5. Prophecies and Witches

"What was that?" Vella, Shay, and Oz asked in unison.

"It must be the wicked witch's minions…" Theodora said, fiddling with her hands, looking around, and trying to spot the source of the cry. She turned to Oz. "They're here to kill you!"

"Kill me?" Oz asked, his eyes growing wide.

"Kill him?" Vella and Shay asked.

The cry sounded again. Everyone looked around again.

"Shouldn't we run or something?" Shay asked in a panic. He tried to grab and drag the others. Shadows danced on the ground around them.

Theodora nodded and the four of them started running. Oz looked back to see what was chasing them and got a faceful of flying baboon. Surprised, he turned back around and tried to run even faster than he already had been. He spotted a small alcove behind a waterfall.

"In there!" He yelled, pointing at it.

He helped a hesitant Theodora into the alcove. By the time he went to help the two kids, they had already situated themselves next to Theodora. The wicked witch's minions roared again and Oz clambered into the hole.

"Aren't you a wizard or something?" Vella whisper-yelled as baboons swarmed their hiding spot.

Oz's eyes lit up with an idea. He quietly reached into his jacket, pulling out a cloth. He unwrapped a dove, releasing it into the air. The four quieted their breathing and listened as the bird flapped away. Larger pairs of flapping wings could be heard fading into the distance. All four of them sighed in relief.

"I don't think I like witches," Oz said. Theodora laughed.

Oz, Vella, and Shay all looked at her with weird looks.

"I too am a witch," Theodora clarified. "I am Theodora the Good."

"You're a witch?" Vella and Shay asked.

"You're not a witch," Oz laughed. "Where are you warts? And your broom?"

Theodora looked at him in confusion? "Broom? Why would I…?"

"Nevermind," Oz said, deciding to drop the subject.

The four of them found their way back to the Emerald City the next day. Vella and Shay gagged on Oz's romantic advances towards Theodora. Oz also picked up a new companion-a small, friendly flying monkey whom he rescued from a lion. They later found out the monkey's name was Finley.

Evanora was waiting for them as they entered. Oz looked around the palace, his eyes wide the whole time as he took in the sights. He marvelled at the sparkling emerald walls and the various decorations which adorned the wall and sat on pedestals. Theodora and Evanora argued in hushed whispers about something Vella and Shay couldn't quite hear. Theodora left the room in a fit of anger.

"Have you figured out a way to get us home yet?" Shay asked in a brief moment of silence.

"Not yet," Evanora replied, sighing. "I have been busy with… royal matters… while you were gone."

"Oh," Shay said, a bit disappointed.

Oz had wandered over to the throne that adorned the center of the room. He dragged a hand over the arm of it.

"So… this is… mine?" Oz asked, still trying to wrap his head around the fact that he was part of a prophecy.

"Yes, as soon as… you…" Evanora's words trailed off as Oz proceeded to seat himself on the throne. She mumbled the last few words of her sentence. "Kill the wicked witch…"

"Did you just say something about killing something wicked?" Vella asked.

"Do what now?" Oz looked up at Evanora.

"Well, you see," Evanora said, "The prophecy states that you must kill the wicked witch first, before you become king."

Oz got up and looked at Evanora, slightly flustered. "K-kill? You never said anything about killing… I don't know if I want to…"

Evanora looked disappointed. "Well, I suppose, if you aren't interested in being king…"

"Well-I mean-I _am_ interested… but killing?" Oz said.

"We could help you," Vella chimed in.

"Yeah," Shay said. "Vella's pretty good at killing wicked things."

Vella shot him a look.

"Well, I mean… my ship…" Shay explained.

Now it was Evanora's turn to be flustered. "Oh, well… Killing the witch could be very dangerous. You do want to get home, don't you?" Evanora asked, hoping to convince the two that going with Oz might preclude their chances of getting home.

"Well… I mean, yeah, but everything else we've done over the last few days has been dangerous too…" Shay said.

"Yeah, a little danger never stopped us," Vella said.

"It is not just a _little_ dangerous," Evanora said, still trying to convince them to stay. "You do not know how powerful she is. You wouldn't want to be killed before we can get you home, do you?"

"No, but I still want to help," Vella said.

Evanora sighed and left the room, annoyed by their stubbornness and realizing there was no convincing them.

"You can come," Oz whispered, still staring at the spot where Evanora was standing, a bit confused and slightly more scared than he was before.

It was settled that night between Oz, Vella, and Shay. The three of them (and that monkey, Finley) would leave early in the morning, before Evanora and Theodora got up. They would go to the dark forest, kill the wicked witch, and return. That would be the end of it, and Evanora and Theodora would hopefully have more time to focus on getting Vella and Shay home. And no one was to say a word to the Theodora about it.


	6. The Dark Forest

"Woah," Vella whispered, looking at the shattered remains of what used to be a small town.

Vella, Shay, Oz, and Finley had all left that morning and started down the yellow brick road. Finley blabbered the whole way-Vella and Shay ignored him by talking about home while Oz had to listen to everything the monkey said. Finley had also insisted that they take a look at the source of some smoke they saw billowing in the sky.

They'd found the ruins of China Town, a small village made of the same material as its name. The four walked through carefully, although they couldn't break anything any more than had been already.

"This is horrible," Vella whispered. "It reminds me of what they said Mog Chothra would do to our town if…"

A sound of something or someone sobbing interrupted her. All four of them looked around, trying to find the source. Oz ducked into a house and looked around. Finley, Vella, and Shay all stayed outside, knowing very well that there was not enough room in the house for them all. The house was too small for Oz to even stand up.

Oz lowered his voice and started talking to the person in the house. The others heard him introduce himself before he turned to them, moving out of the way so that the person in the house could see them.

"This is Finley," he gestured to the flying monkey behind him, "and these two kids are… er…"

"I'm Vella and this is Shay," Vella finished, gesturing between herself and Shay.

Oz turned back to the little girl inside the house. He took his bag from Finley, then disappeared into the little porcelain house. A few minutes later, Oz backed out of the house with a small girl made out of the same material as everything else in the town. She was smiling and thanking Oz as much as possible.

Later that day, the group-now there were five of them-found themselves at the edge of the dark forest, none daring to be the first to enter.

"Are you sure you kids want to do this?" Oz asked, addressing Vella, Shay, and the China Girl.

All three were, despite their hesitation. Oz took a deep breath and took a tentative step into the forest. Nothing had eaten alive (yet), so he took another. And another. And another. The others soon followed.

They all reached a graveyard a while later, after nearly getting eaten by some vicious… things. As they hid behind a rock by the graveyard, Vella tried to ignore the fact that whatever had attacked them reminded her of Mog Chothra's tentacles.

A cloaked figure walked in front of their rock, making its way to the graveyard's gate.

"The wicked witch," Oz whispered.

"She doesn't seem as dangerous as Evanora made her out to be," Vella whispered.

"How are we supposed to kill her?" Shay asked.

"We could use this!" China Girl said, whipping out a small blade.

"It has a knife!" Finley exclaimed, finding it very hard to continue whispering.

Oz took the blade from China Girl's hands, despite her protests, and pocketed it. Vella started checking her dress pockets for anything useful. Her hand came in contact with a hard, smooth material. She grabbed the object and pulled it out.

"Finally!" A voice said. "I was beginning to suffocate in there!"

"Shh!" Vella, Shay, Oz, China Girl, and Finley whispered in unison.

"Sorry," the knife, which Vella had forgotten she had, said.

"Is that knife… talking?" yet another voice asked. This one was a soft female voice, and most definitely did _not_ belong to any of the six who were already there.

Everyone (except for the knife, of course) screamed. The black-cloaked figure stood over their rock, looking down at them. Oz curled into a ball and pleaded for the witch not to kill him. Vella and Shay stood there for a moment, stunned, before Vella lunged at the witch, knife in hand.

The witch raised a hand in self-defense and a bright light blew Vella back. Everyone looked at the witch in surprise.

The blast had also blown back the witch's hood, and everyone froze at what they saw. They had expected the witch to look just as horrible as her actions. But she didn't. The young, blonde-haired woman in front of them was nothing like how they'd pictured her. Oz stood up and looked at her.

"Do… do I know you?" he asked. The others in his company just shot each other worried glances.

The witch cocked her head. "I do not believe so. Are you the wizard?"

"I… I thi-I mean-yes. Yes, I am the wizard. "

The witch smiled. "Then there is hope."

"Who are you?" Vella asked, putting the knife away, much to his objections.

"I am Glinda, the Good Witch of the South," the witch replied.

The company of five looked at each other.

"I-I thought Evanora was the good witch," Oz said.

Glinda sighed. "Evanora. She is the true wicked witch."

"I knew it!" Vella whispered.

"She led everyone to believe that I poisoned the king-my father. But really, it was her," Glinda explained.

Shay cringed internally. Would he ever have good enough judgement to trust the right people? This was the second time one of his "allies" had turned out to be his enemy in disguise.

"Then she was the one who destroyed my village?" China Girl asked in a small voice.

Glinda looked at her, her eyes full of sympathy. "I'm so sorry…"

China Girl looked away.

"Jeez," Vella said. "Your world is just as bad off as ours."

"Your world?" Glinda asked.

"Yeah… We had some-er-monster issues there too," Vella said. Thoughts of mogs, her family, and Shay's family flooded her mind.

While Glinda told Oz the story of everything that had happened between her and Evanora, Vella and Shay's heads buzzed with thoughts of their families. Both thought of how much their parents surely missed them. Both realized their families probably assumed they were dead. Those thoughts were all forced away as an oh-so-familiar cry filled the air.

"Not again," Vella muttered.

"Oh, Wizard, now's the time," Glinda said as flying baboons flooded the air and swarmed towards them.

"What?" Oz asked, in too much of a panic to think properly.

"Aren't you supposed to have magic or something?" Vella asked. She was beginning to doubt his credibility.

"Oh, yeah…" Oz said. He fumbled with his various pockets, turning up nothing, before turning to everyone else. "I think we should run."

"Really?" Shay asked.

More cries filled the air. All of them started running, an unspoken agreement and panic fueling them. Glinda looked back at the encroaching minions. She stopped, took out her wand, and started covering the ground with a thick white fog.

"What are you doing?" Shay asked.

"Slowing them down!" Glinda called. "Go!"

Shay started running, only to run into Vella, sending both teenagers to the ground. Fog filled the air and they all saw nothing but white.

Everyone called each other's names, lost in the confusion caused by the fog. Shay and Vella were the first to run into each other, ending up sprawled on the ground once more. Oz came running and tripped over the two as Finley (who was carrying the China Girl) ran into Oz's face as he toppled to the ground.

The fog started clearing as everyone got back up and started running once more. All 6 came to a halt, nearly falling over a cliff. The minions' cries filled the air, seeming to tell the group that they weren't going to back off.

An idea flashed in Glinda's eyes. "Do you trust me?"

"Sure?" the other five said hesitantly.

"Then just do as I do," Glinda said. She turned to Oz. "Unless you've got something?" He shook his head.

Glinda stepped forward and fell off the edge of the cliff. Vella, Shay, and Oz all called after her. China Girl grabbed onto Finley as he prepared to fly off the cliff.

"Wait! Just because she jumps off a cliff doesn't mean you should!" Oz said.

Finley shrugged. "I have _wings_." Oz couldn't get out any more protests as Finley and China Girl flew over the edge.

Shay and Vella stared after them.

"Isn't jumping off of things what got us into this mess?" Shay asked panic flooding his eyes.

Vella shrugged and grabbed Shay's hand, dragging him with her as she jumped headfirst into yet another abyss.


	7. Soaring

Falling. They were falling. Vella and Shay were falling to their deaths once more. Memories of home and the gorge and everything else that had happened that week filled their minds. But this time, something _did_ catch them. The two found themselves in a bubble and were lifted back up. The others were similarly bubbled.

Oz was trying to maintain his balance as the others looked at everything around them. They passed all sorts of scenery, which seemed like it should only exist in dreams, as they soared through clouds that reminded Vella and Shay of Meriloft. They passed mountains, forests, giant crystals of emerald and tiny flowers of ruby, and all sorts of other sights that could never be described properly.

"If only my parents were here to see this with me," Shay whispered, awestruck by everything he saw.

"Yeah," Vella agreed, looking down at the ground that whizzed past far below them.

"I-is that a wall?" Oz's voice broke Vella out of her thoughts.

She looked up at what looked like a giant bubble in front of them. Behind its iridescent surface, she thought she could see a kingdom and a rather large palace.

"Of sorts," Glinda said. "It repels our enemies and keeps us from harm."

"Yeah, but… we're headed straight for it and… going kinda fast… Too fast-er… I'm gonna die!"

Everyone but Glinda gave him odd looks.

"You needn't worry, Wizard," Glinda assured him. "It's a magic wall and all good-hearted souls… get to… oh…"

"I'm gonna die!" Oz repeated.

The others stared at him, confused. He didn't seem like _too_ bad of a person.

"Why don't you just stop the bubbles?" Vella asked.

"I have no control over the bubbles now," Glinda explained, turning to look at her.

"Autopilot," Shay and Vella both murmured.

Shay swore he could hear what sounded like a muffled voice. He looked over at his bubble-mate.

"Did you say something?" he asked.

"No…" Vella replied.

The sound of Oz screaming dragged their attention back to the situation at hand. A strange, tingly feeling passed through the two as they passed through the wall. They watched Oz in the bubble behind them as he (eventually) passed through too.

The bubbles landed on the ground with a pop. People cheered for Oz, pleading for his help. Oz and Glinda walked through the town.

Shay and Vella stayed back, utterly confused. Where were they now? How would they ever get home? Theodora was back with Evanora, and now that they knew the truth, there was no way that they were going back there.

A crowd gathered around Oz as he began addressing the crowd. Vella and Shay stayed back. They knew nothing about the war that this country was in, and neither really wanted to get involved. All they really wanted to do was to get home. Shay could hear the noise again-it was louder this time-and he looked at Vella. She was looking around and must've heard it too.

The two heard the noise again-it was definitely a voice, and a familiar one at that. It almost sounded like…

Shay reached a hand into his pocket. He'd completely forgotten about his spoon. He pulled it out of his pocket and it sighed in relief.

"Finally!" the spoon said. "I've been trying to get your attention all day. I was beginning to think you had found another spoon… sir."

"Er… Sorry Spoon," Shay replied. "We've been busy."

"So that's where that was," Vella said.

"What do you mean?" Shay asked.

"When I was on your ship, I found this guy," she pulled the knife out of her pocket and muttered something about changing clothes, "and the fo-I mean-Lorraine, and I was wondering where the spoon was."

The spoon and knife, upon seeing each other, both gasped and said "you!" at the same time.

The two started arguing. Vella and Shay just watched, not really wanting to interfere. In fact, the argument was quite amusing to them, and focusing on the silverware's problems made theirs seem to melt away.

The sound of screaming pulled them back to the land of Oz. Some large smokey… thing… was headed for the wall. Glinda was yelling at everyone to take cover. The thing broke through the bubble. Vella pulled Shay out of the way just as it hit the ground.


	8. Not the Same

The crowd gazed at the green-skinned woman in silent horror. She had already gone around terrorizing everyone in the square. Vella and Shay heard Oz whisper something to Glinda. The woman whipped around and looked at him.

"Don't you recognize me, Wizard?" the woman asked. "Have I changed so much?"

"Theodora?" Oz almost whispered the name, not sure if he wanted to believe it.

"Is that really Theodora?" Vella whispered, looking at Shay.

A few facial similarities were there, but this woman before them was not the kind-hearted witch they once knew. Her skin was now a sickly green color, her hair tucked up under a pointy hat. Her face wasn't even the same- its features were much more pointed than before. No longer did she wear shades of red, no, now her attire was strictly black. She looked at the crowd with a mix between a snarl and a sneer on her face.

"May I have this dance?" Theodora asked, lowering her head and snapping her fingers.

Almost instantly, Oz lifted up off of the ground. Theodora lifted him through the air, almost bashing him into everything as he shouted protests and the crowd gasped.

Vella resisted the urge to lunge at her. Shay grabbed her shoulders and held her in place.

"Theodora, stop!" Glinda exclaimed, interrupting the other witch's antics. "You're hurting him!"

Theodora looked at her before slamming Oz into a wall. She turned towards Glinda and Vella backed up towards Shay. Theodora continued talking to Glinda, almost mockingly, as Oz got up and brushed himself up.

A particularly audacious woman spoke up. "Begone, witch, before the Wizard makes mush of you!"

"Oh, how sweet," Theodora said. "They all believe in you. So did I, once."

She turned to Glinda, getting very up close and personal. Shay watched the scene unfold as he held Vella back (oh, how badly did she want to deal with Theodora herself).

Theodora turned towards Oz, flame dancing at her fingertips. "How easy it would be to kill you right now."

Oz backed up as Theodora advanced. The flames at her hands grew ever so slightly as Oz backed into a wall.

"But I can wait," Theodora said, the flames going out. Oz sighed in relief.

"What happened to you?" Vella asked, not even bothering to try and wiggle out of Shay's grasp.

Theodora whipped around to face her.

"You two!" Theodora said. "Gone over to Glinda's side too?"

Shay and Vella just looked at her, all previous confidence lost.

"If you must know," Theodora continued, "My sister made me better."

"Better?" Vella asked. "How is this an improvement? Can't you see that your sister is the evil one?"

Theodora laughed-it was a very horrible, grating cackle rather than its usual, more gentle sound-and shook her head.

"There is so much you don't know. And perhaps it is better that you never find out."

Before either teen could say another word, Theodora drew her hand back, preparing to throw an ever-growing ball of fire that she held in her hand at Vella. Before she could, Shay pulled out his spoon and chucked it at Theodora's head. The ball of fire vanished and Theodora looked at him for a moment, stunned.

"Ouch," the spoon said from the ground. Shay picked him back up.

Theodora's stunned look turned into one of anger. She summoned another, much smaller fireball and threw it at Vella again. Vella dodged it, pulled the knife out of her pocket, and deflected a third one that Theodora threw.

Theodora growled in frustration and turned to Shay, prepared to aim all of her fire at Shay. She created a particularly large fireball, aiming it at his head. Just as she was about to throw it, a bright light extinguished the flames.

"Theodora! Stop, your fight is not with them!" Glinda said, wand in hand, preparing to strike again if need be.

Theodora walked over to Glinda once more, chuckling softly. "Believe me, you will ALL die when my sister and I come back." She looked at one of the townsfolk, who was holding a broom.

"Give me that!" she commanded, drawing the broom towards herself and corrupting it with her magic. She looked at Oz. "It was a broom you wanted, wasn't it, Wizard?"

She hopped on the broom and flew off, cackling the whole way.


	9. Plan

Shay rubbed his spoon with the end of the bow on Vella's dress. It really didn't clean anything-the dress was muddy too-but Shay needed _something_ to do. It had been about an hour since Theodora (or whatever she was now) had left. They now sat in a room of Glinda's palace, neither sure of what to do. Shay and Vella didn't really know what to do. It seemed like the country's fight had become theirs too-it was a wordless agreement, but everyone knew it was there.

Vella sighed and stood up. Shay had given up trying to "clean" his spoon. She walked over to Glinda, who was walking away from Oz in frustration.

"Is now a bad time?" she asked.

Glinda looked at her and forced a smile. "Of course not."

"I was just wondering if I could get some new clothes… I've kinda been wearing this dress for three days now," Vella said.

Glinda's smile got a little warmer. "I'll see what I can find you."

She walked off and Vella went back to sit by Shay. He was now using his fingers to try and clean his spoon.

"What's even on that thing?" Vella asked. She looked at the bow of her dress, which was now covered in some sort of gray substance.

"Oh, that's probably some of my dad's hull patch… I used my spoon to test its pH balance," Shay replied.

"Oh," was all Vella could say. She glanced at the bow again before shrugging it off. It wasn't like she was going to wear the dress again.

Glinda walked over to her, a light pink, almost white dress in her arms. "I believe this will fit you… there is a room down the hall if you would like to try it on."

"Thanks," Vella said, taking the dress and going down the hall.

Shay fiddled with his spoon and looked up at Glinda. "Do you think you can get us home?"

Glinda sighed. "Perhaps, once this is all over, yes. Where are you from, child?"

Shay grumbled a little at being called a child before saying, "I don't know anymore."

"You don't know?" Glinda asked.

Shay shook his head. "No. I-er-had a recent change of residence… I guess I'd just go home with Vella and try to find my parents from there. I think she lives in… Sugar Bunting?"

Glinda frowned. "I don't know where that is… I'm sorry. But I promise you I will do all I can after the wizard frees Oz."

"Scheming behind my back?" Vella asked, walking back over to Glinda and Shay.

"No, we were just discussing how we were going to get home," Shay replied.

Vella pulled the sleeve of the dress back up. It fit, but just barely-the dress was just a little bit too big for her. But it was much better than that dirty, shredded Maidens Feast dress that she had been wearing.

"I feel so unhelpful," Shay said, messing with the goop on his spoon once more.

"Yeah…" Vella said. She looked up at Glinda. "What should we do?"

Glinda shook her head and muttered, "If anyone is being unhelpful, it's Oz." To the teens, she said, "I'm afraid I cannot ask you to do anything until we have a plan."

"Oh," Vella said. Oz came back into the room, bag in hand. "I'm guessing bombs and death rays aren't the type of plans you're looking for, are they?"

"Death rays?" Glinda asked. "No. I do not wish to destroy the Emerald City… just to free it."

"Darn," Vella said.

"Maybe not bombs," Oz muttered upon overhearing their conversation, "But… fireworks?"

He'd said the last part just loud enough for the others to hear.

"Fireworks?" Glinda asked. "You've mentioned those twice, yet I still don't know what they are."

"It's a little hard to explain," Oz said.

"I guess you could say they're really flashy explosives. But they explode in the sky and sometimes it looks like they leave a trail of stars," Vella said.

"Stars…" Oz muttered. "I wonder if _she_ knows what fireworks are…"

"I highly doubt it," Glinda said.

The three continued to ramble off ideas until a plan was born. It was going to be Oz's greatest trick yet.


	10. Ephemeral Successes

Vella and Shay, each in new clothes provided by Glinda (she claimed it would help them "blend in" with the others), walked through the forest with the rest of her subjects. They looked around the forest. Bright red apples hung from the branches of the trees. Everyone had been warned to not "provoke the trees".

Vella and Shay weren't exactly sure what that meant, but after their encounters with barfing trees, they really didn't want to find out. They looked around and realized they'd fallen behind in all of their spectating. The two started running, but were stopped short when Shay hit his head on a particularly low branch, knocking off several apples.

"Hey!" a voice exclaimed. "Watch where you're going!"

The two looked around, trying to find the source of the voice. The tree, whom the branch belonged to, was looking at them, a furious look on its face.

"I guess talking trees are more common than I thought," Vella whispered. Shay nodded in agreement.

"Sorry," Shay said, slightly less perturbed than he thought he'd be upon seeing a talking tree. He picked the apples that he'd knocked off off of the ground. "Do you-er-want these back?"

The tree sighed. "No. You can't very well attach them on my branches, can you? At least you didn't pick them off to eat them. I mean, how would _you_ like that?"

Shay gathered up the rest of the apples and walked away with Vella as the tree continued its rant about idiots trying to eat its fruit. They caught up with the others a few minutes later.

* * *

Everyone cheered. Their first plan was a success. Their scarecrow people had lured most of Evanora's winged army into the deadly poppy field, sending them to an endless deep sleep-the baboons were far from dead, but no longer fully alive. Next, Vella and Shay were to head to the Emerald City, to be there as support in case things went south. It wasn't necessarily the role they wanted to play, but it was the one they got.

As they made their way to the city (being sure to go around the poppy field), they noticed something in the sky. It looked like… Glinda? Sure enough, Glinda was being taken to the city herself… Just not in the ideal fashion-two of Evanora's minions were lifting her through the sky, the wicked witch following suit, keeping an eye on Glinda.

Upon seeing this, Vella and Shay started running towards the Emerald City. Surely this wasn't part of the plan. They reached the gates and, passing the Winkie guard who was sitting with his eyes closed, rubbing his aching head (upon which a rather large bruise was forming), snuck into the city square. The two arrived at a scene which could only be described as pure freneticness. Glinda was in chains, people were yelling at Evanora, Evanora was yelling back at them, and guards were trying to push the people back to the center of the square. Vella and Shay stood at the edge of the crowd (or was it the middle?) feeling a bit dizzy and even more lost.

"Look!" Theodora's voice rang out through the square, silencing all. "Your Wizard!"

Murmurs of "what's he doing?" flooded the square. Vella and Shay squinted and tried to see what everyone was looking at.

The people watched helplessly as Oz's balloon, presumably filled with coins from the King's treasury, floated away into the sky. Cries of "no!" replaced the murmurs as Theodora threw a handful of flame at the balloon, effectively shooting it from the sky. Gold rained down upon the square and some citizens even started crying. Even Glinda, who previously tried to look void of all emotion, crumbled.

The sky seemed to darken and the atmosphere started to weigh down everyone's hearts. The only sounds were sobbing and Evanora and Theodora's triumphant whispers. The two witches smiled and praised each other, assuming they'd won.

Shay turned to Vella. "What do we do now? If Oz is enslaved and we're enslaved along with it, how are we supposed to get home?"

Vella shook her head slowly. "I don't know."

Theodora and Evanora turned back to Glinda, raising their hands, which were flowing with power, above their heads, prepared to kill Glinda. And in those last few moments, all hope was lost.


	11. There is Hope

A great cry-a roar, almost-rang across the square just moments after the fires in the braziers went out. Everyone looked at the giant cloud holding Oz's face. People ran around in terror, Evanora and Theodora murmured their disbelief, and Vella and Shay just looked on, not entirely sure of what to make of it all.

"Fear me not, great people of Oz, fear me not," Oz's voice drowned out the sounds of panic.

"Impossible!" Evanora and Theodora cried.

"More tricks?" Evanora asked, "After everything? How dare you defy us?!"

"Dare?" Oz's booming voice filled the square once more. "How dare you, wicked sisters? No one defies Oz!"

"Guards!" Evanora shouted. "Destroy him!"

Vella and Shay ducked for cover as Evanora's guards threw spears at Oz. Nothing seemed to affect him-all the spears just went right through him. His roar filled the air once more, shaking everyone in the square.

"You thought you could kill me?" Oz asked. "Thanks to you, I have shed my mortal shell and taken my true ethereal form. I'm now more powerful than ever! I'm invincible! Do you still doubt me?"

"Doubt you?" Theodora laughed cynically. "I defy you!"

She drew back her hand, which was once more filled with flame, and threw a handful of fire at Oz. He exploded, sending a few people flying backward. And then the square was silent. The only sound was Evanora complimenting her sister.

Another great silence smothered the square. The people waited. And waited. Seconds seemed like hours as they waited for Oz to come back, oh, how they hoped that he'd come back. But he didn't.

Evanora and Theodora, now rid of their distraction, went back to Glinda, prepared to kill her again. They were stopped short once more when Evanora was hit on the back of the head by an apple. Vella walked up to stand by Evanora, dragging Shay behind her.

"Now wait just a minute!" she said.

"You!" Evanora exclaimed. "Interfering with my plans again?!"

"What is with this country? You two are ten times _worse_ than Mog Chothra!" Vella exclaimed, momentarily letting go of Shay to throw her hands up in exasperation. "I haven't been in this country long enough to know what this war is about, but I do know that I want to get home, and I can't do that until this war is over! And since the Wizard is obviously not as invincible as he claimed to be, I'll end it!"

Theodora growled and looked at the two of them.

"Hey, I had nothing to do with this decision!" Shay said. "She just dragged me up here in a fit of anger!"

Vella, with her free hand, continued throwing apples at the two of them-it wasn't necessarily going to end the war, but it sure did make her feel better.

"What did you say would be the end of it?" Vella asked. "Oh yeah, the death of the wicked witch. I was really hoping I wouldn't have to kill anything else after Mog Chothra, but seeing as it's the only way to get home…"

Vella let go of Shay, who, despite his mental voices screaming at him, didn't run away and just watched Vella's temper tantrum. But he did freak out when Vella decided to throw her knife at Evanora, who easily avoided it and pocketed it.

Theodora and Evanora, after Vella ran out of objects to throw and was preparing to throw Shay, let power flow to their hands and both prepared to strike.

* * *

"Well, this is just great," Shay said. Vella sighed.

The two teens really were no match for Evanora and Theodora, especially with Theodora's recent development in power. Not only had the two witches tied up Shay and Vella, but they'd also stripped them of their silverware and whatever else was in their pockets. It really was hopeless-Evanora and Theodora's enemies were either captured or too scared to speak up. There was still no sign of the Wizard (little did the people know that he was, in fact, alive and sitting in his grand contraption watching the scene play out, waiting for the right moment to interfere).

"Now that we have no further distractions…" Evanora started, "Witness what happens when you defy us!"

The two raised their hands above their heads once more, prepared to kill not only Glinda, but Vella and Shay too.

"Wait!" Vella tried her luck one more time before she realized she didn't have anything to say. "Er-Do you-erm-like giraffes?"

Evanora tilted her head and looked at Vella. "Giraffes?"

Vella continued to stall and puzzle Evanora (and all of the other Ozians), gripping a small shred of hope that the Wizard would, in fact, come back.

And he did. Evanora and Theodora were stopped short once more as they whipped around to face him.

"No," Evanora whispered.

The people rejoiced. Glinda disappeared (but not before untying Vella and Shay). The Wizard "unleashed the stars" and the people advanced on the two witches. Vella was able to take the knife she had back and nearly stabbed Evanora. Evanora made a run for it while Theodora prepared to fly away.

"Theodora," Oz said, interrupting the witch mid-flight. "I know your wickedness is not your doing, and, should you once again find the goodness within you, you are welcome to return."

"Yeah!" Vella called. "You were supposed to help us get home, too!"

Oz's giant face looked at her for a second before turning back to Theodora.

"Never!" she screamed before flying off into the distance, never to be seen again for a long time.

The people cheered, Oz vaporized, and Vella and Shay hugged each other, finally taking the time to collapse internally after nearly being electrocuted and/or burned to a crisp multiple times. And for a moment, they almost felt like they belonged.


	12. If I Come Back

Vella smoothed out the skirt of her dress. Glinda had given her yet another dress (this one was white). She had insisted on providing the two kids with clean clothes each day they stayed. It had been a whole week since the wicked witches had been defeated (no one was really sure what happened to Evanora, although some swore that they saw an old hag in Evanora's dress being carried off into the sky) and still Glinda had no idea how to get them home.

Seeing as though the two were living in the palace with her, Glinda saw no choice other than to reveal the truth to them. There were only four others (excluding Oz himself) who were in on the plot. Oz was dead in the eyes of the public-only the Wizard of Oz was left.

Oz, Glinda, the China Girl, Vella, and Shay sat at a table, enjoying the quiet morning as they ate breakfast. After the war, the land had fallen into a state of peace and everyone finally had a sense of freedom. The world itself seemed to brighten a little. The five of them just talked about everything and nothing, although their topic of conversation never strayed to the war or Shay and Vella's families. No one wanted to ruin the sense of calm.

They finished their meal, yet just sat there, talking. Shay continued to try to clean off his spoon (he'd already ruined 5 napkins and several pieces of the Quadlings' scrap fabric doing so). The spoon complained about being dipped in that "toxic potion" the whole time while the knife, who was pretty much spotless, made fun of him. Vella just watched the scene and held back her laughter.

Glinda excused herself, claiming she needed to visit an old friend about a "personal problem". Vella and Shay left next, going out to wander in the garden.

"Do you really think she'll be able to get us home?" Shay asked, breaking the silence.

Vella sighed. "I don't know… I guess so. I mean, shouldn't everything that's happened over the past few weeks be an indication that anything can happen?"

Shay shook his head. "Don't even get me started on what happened… It's all so… blurry. You know what I mean, right?"

"Yeah," Vella said, her voice almost dropping to a whisper. "Yeah, I do…" She sighed again. "If only our parents could see us now. With any luck, Glinda will be able to get us home so we can tell them."

"Maybe I can tell my mom I'm sorry, too," Shay said.

A silence fell over the two as they sat on the garden bench. It would have been completely silent were it not for the various birds and creatures who buzzed around the garden amongst all the flowers and plants.

"What was your plan with the apples, anyway?" Shay asked.

"I don't know," Vella replied. "I guess I was just upset…" Then, in a more lighthearted tone, she asked, "So what about you? Do you like giraffes?"

Shay smiled. "I don't know. I've never seen one."

"I wonder if your parents do," Vella said. "I guess we'll have to ask them once we get home.

The two continued fantasizing about what they'd do when they got home. Vella would show Shay and his family the world. Shay would apologize (again) to his parents for treating them like they were computers and find some way to make it up to them. Both would tell their families about everything that had happened while they were in Oz.

The two spent most of the rest of the day in the garden. It was quiet, and something about it quieted their troubles. In fact, the only times they weren't in the garden were when they ate lunch or needed to use the bathroom.

It was much later that day when Glinda came back. Of course, Vella and Shay didn't know this- they were still outside, this time watching the sun disappear behind the mountains. Oz walked outside to see them.

"How're you kids doing?" he asked.

"I'm not… nevermind," Shay said, still annoyed at being called a kid.

"Right…" Oz said. "Glinda's back. She wants to see you."

Shay and Vella shared a glance before heading inside. Over the past week, they'd memorized most of Glinda's palace, so they knew where Glinda's room was. The only problem? She wasn't there.

The two wandered around the palace, searching for Glinda, until they got horribly lost. They hadn't had the chance to explore _every_ passage. The sound of clanking came from a room down the hall. They walked along until they found the source.

Glinda stood amidst a storm of scattered dishes. She was picking them up off the ground as Vella and Shay walked into the room.

"Oh!" Glinda said. "Good, I was thinking Oz forgot to tell you I needed you."

"No," Shay said. "We just-er-got lost."

"What's with all the dishes?" Vella asked.

"That's why I summoned you," Glinda said.

"Because you needed help picking up dishes?" Vella asked as Glinda set some plates on a table.

"No," Glinda said. "Because I think I have a way to get you home."


	13. I'm Coming Home to You

Glinda hugged the two teens. She was the last to say goodbye-all of the others had already said their farewells. It was not a very tearful goodbye. Vella and Shay were too exhilarated to be sad.

The day beforehand, Glinda had told the two of her plan on how to get them home. A friend of hers specialized in teleportation and was able to help Glinda figure out a way to transport Vella and Shay back to their homes.

"Are you sure you want to do this?" Glinda asked. The two teens nodded. "Then farewell and good luck. And do not forget the rule about flipping."

"Right," Vella said. Glinda took a deep breath, preparing to send the two home. Vella grabbed Shay's hand and all at once they were gone.

* * *

Vella and Shay stared on in awe. Stars-real stars-moved past them and a thin, iridescent membrane, reminiscent of Glinda's bubbles, surrounded them. It was something they could only describe as a tunnel. Shay hesitantly reached out a hand, swirling the membrane and all of its colors and patterns. Pulling themselves out of the daze, the two teens remembered Glinda's instructions and flipped in a complete circle.

Shay was the first to spot the part of the tunnel that just didn't quite look the same. They crashed into the weak spot before either could react.

The two lay in a heap on the ground. They took a moment to get their heads straight before getting up, brushing themselves off, and looking around.

A sort of half-smile plastered itself to Vella's face as she looked around. It felt like she'd spent so much time in Oz that she'd forgotten what home looked like. But she hadn't. She hadn't forgotten. She never would.

A gentle breeze stirred the air, rustling the branches above their head. The branches of the tree that she knew all too well.

"We made it," Vella whispered. She nearly broke down then and there. "We're home."

Shay was intaking his surroundings too-he'd never been here before. But then again, he hadn't really gotten much of a chance to explore Vella's world and actually enjoy it-he was too preoccupied helping his parents and trying to wrap his head around everything that had happened that day. That one fateful day when everything fell apart and put itself together at the same time.

Memories came flooding back to both of them, and both took some time to collapse internally in silence at the top of the hill. For a tender while, the two let the pain and sorrows and confusion come back, no longer bolstered by the constant adrenaline rush they had in Oz. After they collected themselves, Vella looked down the hill, towards home.

The two walked down towards the town. It was calmingly familiar to Vella and yet, at the same time, it all seemed so foreign. She hadn't been gone long, but a lot had happened in that time.

She took a deep breath before she raised a hand to knock on the door-her own door. Shay watched from behind her, knowing that there was a good chance Vella's parents would know where his were. Vella just stood there, one hand raised, half of her mind telling her to knock and the other half refusing. She shook her head and lowered her hand.

"I can't." Vella looked back at Shay. "Let's find your parents first. I'll come back later."

"Are you sure?" Shay asked. Vella nodded.

They found their way into the center of the town. A few people gave them odd looks-they were still in the clothes Glinda had provided for them, which were quite out of place outside of Oz-as they tried to get someone, anyone's attention.

"Excuse me, you look a bit lost," a woman said, tapping Vella on the shoulder. "Can I help?"

Vella looked at the woman for a second-she looked vaguely familiar-before saying, "Yeah… do you know the Volta family?"

The woman smiled. "Not personally, but it would be hard not to know _of_ them. They were the talk of the town a few weeks-living inside Mog Chothra and all, and then coming to live here." She pointed in the direction from which they came. "They live right over there, three houses from the end of the road."

Vella and Shay said their thanks before walking off in the direction the woman had pointed.

"Oh, and by the way," the woman called, stopping them again. "Be gentle. They lost their only son a few weeks ago and haven't been taking it all that well… And it probably has not helped that there are _some_ people who are a bit… obnoxious with their charity." The woman sighed. "It really is a shame. First you find out you've been living in a monster and your whole life is a lie, and then your son dies, his body never to be found… Just be gentle, okay?"

Vella and Shay nodded and went off again. It didn't take them long to find the house, but they found themselves in the same situation as before, all too hesitant to knock. The woman's words had hit the two of them hard and robbed Shay of all the things he thought about saying.

"You do it," he said, pushing Vella in front of him.

"Okay," Vella whispered, raising her hand to the door.

And then she knocked.


	14. Here in Your Arms

There was a knock on the door. Again. It was the fifth time that week that one of those people who claimed they wanted to "help them recover" had knocked on the Voltas' door. They were utterly relentless.

"We don't want your charity," Hope called out for the fifth time that week, finding herself annoyed once more.

She didn't even bother with checking who it was. It was always either one of those charity people or the Tartines (although they usually said who they were and, depending on who it was, didn't even knock at all-this phenomenon was most common with Rocky, Vella's little sister).

"We're not here for charity," a familiar voice replied.

Hope stopped what she was doing and went over to the door. She didn't open it, just in case it was one of those charity people (she had found that once you let them in, it's nigh impossible to get them back out).

Vella stood outside, listening to the movement inside and feeling a slight bit of deja vu talking through the door.

"Who are you?" Vella heard Hope asked, her voice closer.

Brief memories of a flaming ship and talking to what she thought was a computer flashed through Vella's mind.

"Vella."

No, she couldn't have heard her right. Vella was dead, lost in that abyss after trying to save… A small glimmer of hope rose in her chest. Maybe it really was Vella. And if it was, and Vella was really alive, maybe there was a chance Shay was too. Maybe then she wouldn't have to suffer anymore.

Vella listened to the silence behind the door. She had taken to pressing her ear against it, trying to hear what was going on. The doorknob clicked, the door opened inwards, and Vella fell, knocking over Shay's mom (again).

The three all stood there staring at each other for a moment in stunned silence, before Hope excused herself and shut the door, going off to find her husband.

"Well," Shay said. "That went… better than I expected…."

Shay's mom stood at the door again, her husband accompanying her. It was the third time this had happened-every other time it had been a hallucination. But her husband hadn't seen her this panicked since the first time it had happened.

"I know this has been hard on you, but we can't keep living like this," he said. "You know that it's always a ha-"

"I know it isn't this time," Hope interrupted. "Please, just trust me."

Her husband sighed. "Okay. But if it is a hallucination again, I really do think we should start thinking about accepting help."

"We won't need to," she said, smiling weakly as she opened the door.

Shay and Vella still stood outside, idly chatting and hoping that they weren't just going to stand there all day. Shay took a napkin that he'd borrowed (stolen) from Oz and started cleaning his spoon again-although all it really did was smear the goop around.

"Shay?" his dad's voice interrupted their conversation. His mom stood there too, tears brimming in her eyes, assured that he wasn't just a hallucination.

Shay smiled wordlessly and ran to them to be enveloped in their embrace. They stood in that doorway for a long while.

Meanwhile, Vella started to sneak off to find her parents. But she didn't need to. Her family _had_ come to see how the Voltas were doing. But when they saw their daughter and the other family's son standing there, they froze and barely dared to breathe, for fear that the slightest movement would cause the two of them to disappear.

But nothing would make them disappear. Not again. Vella spotted them, her mother opened her arms, and Vella too ran to her family, embracing them all at once. And for the first time in what seemed like a very long time, both Vella and Shay could safely say that they'd found their way home.

The End


	15. Alternate Ending

Shay and Vella stared in horror at what had opened the door. It was not who they had expected… it was beyond expectation. The creatures that stood before them were horrible- more horrible than Evanora, Theodora, and Mog Chothra combined.

Peering in the door, Vella noticed that the inside of the house was covered in some sort of purplish slime- the same stuff that oozed from the mouths of these creatures.

A variety of strange noises (that sounded vaguely like talking, although they were words that could never be pronounced by the human tongue) came from one of them. "An ate hdn Ruw Eyaeh. Weh oar yao?"

"Um…" Shay said. "Hi?"

One of those two words (or both- no one really knew) angered the creature. It's normally dark green skin turned a dark red, and before either teen could react, they were swallowed up by the creature.

As they slid down its gullet, they could hear it say, "So stn netuole inh Ruw Eyaeh. So stn."

The two landed in the creature's stomach, which in fact seemed larger than the creature itself. Much like in cartoons, they managed to land on a small surface-an island among stomach acid, it seemed-right next to the people they were hoping to find.

Both Shay and Vella's families sat there next to them, having also been eaten. Despite their unfortunate circumstances and the small size of the "island", the families managed to hug their children and Vella and Shay began to tell their tale. No one knew whether they were going to, by some miracle, survive, or whether they'd be digested, but they knew they were together and that's all that mattered.

The End

* * *

 **Just a short little alternate ending inspired by "MoonWolf13" where there were, in fact, aliens who ate their parents. I don't really know why no one noticed the aliens beforehand, but… And whether they survived or not? That's up to you.**


End file.
